Councillor Renu Devi lodges FIR against Mayor, AMC, and others

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Renu Devi, Councillor, ward No 45, Ara Municipal Corpoation (AMC), lodged a named FIR with Nawada police station in Bhojpur district, on August 3, 2018, late evening, against Mayor, AMC, Priyam Devi, former Mayor Sunil Kumar, Councilor ward No 37 Sita Devi, Tax Collector Ashok Yadav, and two others for threatening her with dire consequences, abusing her on caste line, at a meeting recently. She also alleged gross irregularities in the tax collection.

Renu Devi and former Councillor Amrendra Kumar said that police lodged the FIR after they wrote the President, Chief Minister, DGP and other ministers in this regard.

Renu Devi said that She had demanded inquiry into largescale irregularities in tax collection and other schemes but no one paid heed to it and the tax collector, ward no 43, 44, 45, Ashok Yadav implicated her in a false case. So she wrote to the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister ordered the Additional Secretary, and the Deputy Director, Town Development, to appropriate action in this connection.The Additional Secretary ordered the Municipal Commissioner Pramod Kumar to upload the action taken report on the website of the Urban Development and Housing department at the earliest but no action was taken. So she wrote to the President on July 10, 2018, and the President took cognizance and ordered the Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar, to take action in the matter.

Renu Devi further said that tender was invited for the construction of lavatories in the slum areas of ward No 45 in the 2016-2017 but the work was not done despite withdrawal of fund and Mayor Priyam Devi transferred the work to Ward No 28. She said that when she raised the matter at a meeting of the AMC recently, the aforesaid persons in the FIR insulted her on caste line and tortured her calling widow. She said that they also threatened her with dire consequences if she did not withdraw the case. Ranu Devi added that she was so frightened that she was living with one of her relatives.

After institution of the FIR, town DSP Pankaj Kumar reached the AMC and quizzed a number of ward councillors and the Municipal Commissioner AMC Pramod Kumar on the matter.

On the other hand, Ward Councillors Amit Kumar Bunty, Rekha Jain, Sunita Devi, Sandhya Singh, Lalita Devi, Shamim Arvi and others condemned lodging of FIR against the Mayor and others saying that it has maligned the image of the AMC. They further said that no personal comment was passed at the meeting though heated exchange did take place.